Of the mystery of where and when gunpowder was invented, I shall speak but a little. The most up to date study so far is by Claude Blair (1983).
Gunpowder consists of a mixture of sulphur, carbon charcoal) and potassium nitrate (or saltpetre). The first two ingredients
were well know in antiquity, but the third was not written about in
Europe until mentioned by Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon circa 1250.
In his book "De Secretis Operibus Artis et Naturae"
of 1248, Bacon gives the formula for gunpowder disguised as an anagram.
In "Opus Majus" of 1268, he describes the use of gunpowder
to make crackers - "that children's toy which is made in many parts of
the world". In a book composed before he died in 1280, Albertus Magnus
describes a recipe for a powder used to make "flying fire"(rockets or,
perhaps, roman candles) and crackers.

Saltpetre is defined in an entry in the same
book, indicating it was a novelty at the time. In Arab references to
saltpetre of the same period, it is called "Chinese Snow", but true
gunpowder is not discussed until much later.

Incendiary mixtures containing saltpetre are
mentioned in a Chinese work of 1044,the "Wu Ching Tsung Yao",
but this is not true gunpowder. No copy of this work edited earlier
than the 1550s has been found so we cannot tell which are later additions
and which are not. In 1132, fire lances are mentioned in historical
records, in 1221, cast iron bombs, and in 1259, bamboo tubes containing
powder and clay pellets. True gunpowder seems only to have appeared in China in the
Mongol period (1260-1368) - this was confirmed by Blackmore's (1995)
identification of a cannon dated 1332 - so we are left at an impasse.

The general consensus is that saltpetre and its
derivative pyrotechnic mixtures were discovered in China during the 11th century,
the knowledge passed to the Arabs and thence to Europe, where saltpetre
explosives were discovered between 1225 and 1250. We must not forget
the Spanish link, as it is possibly the most important one in the chain.
At the time half of Spain was occupied by Arab principalities, noted
for their intellectual brilliance, innovation and tolerance. Bacon had
links with Spanish scholars, and in Andalusia sulphur and natural saltpetre
are found in abundance. The truth will perhaps never be known until
all of Bacon's codes are deciphered, or new evidence comes to light
in the form of datable guns and documents.

6. Gun from Vedelspang Castle, which was destroyed in
1426 (Tojhusmuseet, Copenhagen)

7. Handgonne being fired from a stand, "Belli Fortis",
manuscript, by Konrad Kyeser, a remarkable manual of strategy and military
engineering, 1400

Certainly, the first
uses of gunpowder are psychological - loud bangs and sausage-shaped
rockets snaking across the battlefield to terrify men and horses. This
is the role we can see for the fire lances of 1132. It is a short step
from here to the early handgonne. I believe that while the bamboo pellet
throwers of 1259 did not use true gunpowder, they certainly were a first
application of the principle of using burning gases to throw a projectile
(even though in this case it was probably a handful of pebbles or a
baked clay bullet to scare the enemy's horses, or launch a
shower of sparks towards enemy fortifications).These weapons owe more
to pyrotechnics than to gunnery.

11. First illustration of a serpentine lock. The other figure is casting
bullets. From a manuscript of 1411 (Codex Vindobana 3069, Austrian National
Library, Vienna)

Early Recipes of Gunpowder
compared to
Modern and Chinese Recipes

SOURCE:

Saltpetre%

Sulphur%

Charcoal%

Other%

Roger Bacon,
1248

41.2

29.4

29.4

-

Albertus
Magnus, c1275

66.6

11.2

22.2

-

Marcus Graecus,
c1350

66.6

11.2

22.2

-

John Arderne, c1350

66.6

11.2

22.2

-

Rothenberg,c1377

66.6

16.7

16.7

-

Nürnberg,
c1382

66.6

16.7

16.7

-

Montauban,
c1400

71.0

12.9

16.1

-

Tyskland,
c1400

71.0

12.9

16.1

-

Kyeser,
c1400

75.0

12.5

12.5

-

Burgund,
c1423

71.5

21.4

7.1

-

British Army,
c1781

75.0

10.0

15.0

-

Ideal Formula

74.64

11.85

13.51

-

Wu Ching Sung Yao (1550s edition,c1044)

42.3

29.6

2.8

25.3

12. Handgonne being fired from over the shoulder, early 1400's. Note the
shape of the butt and method of attachment

13. Two shooters with a handgonne, one aims and the other fires, 1437
(Codex Manuscript 3062, Austrian National Library, Vienna)

The earliest authenticated document for the use
of cannons in Europe is an order by the council of Florence to employ
masters for the making of iron arrows and balls and "cannones de metallo"
on February 11th, 1326. In two manuscripts of 1326, by Walter de Milemete,
cannons are illustrated although not mentioned in the text. They are
shown firing large metal bolts (musket arrows were stocked by European
armies until the 1600s). Other early accounts mention cannon being shipped
from Ghent (1313), and used against the Scots (1327). A manuscript from
Rouen mentions "Pots de fer a traire garros a feu" in 1338 ("pots of
iron to throw arrows with/of fire"). A reference to cannons at
the battle of Metz in 1324 has been revealed as a forgery.

14. Hussite Wagon-fort, showing gunner and crossbowman, 1437. Note only
one person is aiming and firing

However, Angelucci (writing in 1869) cites a
document of 1281 mentioning: "a big squad of crossbowman and scopettieri
lead by Count Guido of Montefeltro". The scopettieri are gun-bearers,
and, if correct, this gives us a date for the introduction of firearms
earlier than any other. This reference to portable guns so early makes
sense if we consider that gunmakers would have started making smaller
examples first, until they had perfected the techniques for making larger
cannon and gained a certain amount of confidence in their abilities.

16. Serpentine lock, about 1430

17. Another form of serpentine lock, passing through the stock, about
1430

It may be worthwhile here to mention the persistent
and erroneous fairy-tale of Black Berthold (Bertholdus Niger, or Berthold
Schwarz) who was reputed to have invented the gun, or gunpowder, in
either 1332 or 1432 in Germany. He never existed, except in the imaginations
of Renaissance artists, who delighted in portraying him inventing gunpowder
with the assistance of Satan.

18. Soldiers preparing to shoot incendiary arrows into a castle. From a
south German book on the use of gunpowder(Ms. I 34), about 1440

References and illustrations up to the year 1400
are scarce, and the surviving examples undateable with few exceptions.
We have the curious Loshult gun, excavated last century in circumstances
which prevent modern means of dating. It is vase-shaped, like the cannon
of de Milemete, which leads us to date it to the same period. How can
we explain the curious form, though - the swelled breech and the flared
lip? This is obviously not the first of the line, but a developed model,
based on previous experience, which, rightly or wrongly, concluded these
features made for a safer and more efficient gun. Was this a true handgonne, or perhaps
perhaps a model cannon, made by some master founder so as to be able to hawk
his larger wares from castle to castle?

19. Another illustration from the same manuscript showing bombs, cannon,
and a handgonne

20. Close-up showing barrel bands, stock, and method of aiming

Certainly, there is a great difference
between this example and the succeeding ones - the Morko gun, the Tannenberg
gun, and other early examples found in the Historical Museum, Bern and
the Real Armeria, Madrid. All of these are simple tubes of metal, short,
of large calibre, and either socketed to accept a pole-stock, or attached
to a stock like that of a contemporary crossbow. A third type had a
simple metal stock - a rod extending from the breech, sometimes forged
into a loop. One noteworthy feature sometimes found is a slightly conical bore, allowing the use of projectiles of slightly varied dimensions. Stepped bores with a reduced calibre "powder chamber" are also found. While this may have originated as a constructional feature on wrought iron guns, new reaseach by Ulrich Bretscher has found this was an important performance feature.

Professor Tout (1911) published early English
documents about handgonnes. A royal account of 1338 (Edward III) mentions
a ship equipped with "iii canons der fer ove v chambre" and "un handgone"
(3 cannons of iron with 5 chambers and one handgun). In 1373-5, there
is an account for payment for the stocking of guns "ad modum pycos"
(in the manner of a pike, ie. with a long stave). From the same time,
there are accounts detailing the number of bullet moulds and lead balls
kept at the Tower of London.

22. Bronze handgonne barrel, late 1400's, royal armouries
(XII, 959)

23. Three guns from the Historisches Museum, Berni) 1300's, barrel secured by bands
ii) early 1400's, bronze barrel with pan, pinned to stock
iii) arquebus with snapping matchlock, late 1400's. The button on the
rear of the lockpate releases a pin which engages the tail of the serpentine,
thus allowing it to fall forward with gravity or (mild) spring pressure

As an aside, I recently examined what was purported
to be a Mongol handgonne of the 1280s, abandoned during Kublai Khan's
aborted second invasion of Japan. Apart from the fact that it was unethically
obtained without proper excavation, I had my doubts because of the cylindrical
bore - since this implies the use of corned (grained) powder, which
was invented in Europe in about 1400. I am certain investigation will
reveal it as a small cannon of the 1500's, inspired by Portuguese or
Chinese weapons (unless, of course, it is a forgery or a primitive,
modern era artifact from south Asia).

24. From top to bottom:
i) hackbut of forged iron, early 1400s, Bohemian, bearing the mark of the
Rosenberg family. Length, 997 mm, cal. 33mm
ii) arquebus with snapping matchlock, about 1500, with the town mark of
Basle. Note the serpentine falls towards the shooter and the release button
is on the forward section of the lockplate, opposite to fig 23 (iii)

Gun barrels grew longer as the 14th century rolled
on, acquiring a hook, or warring spike, to act as a recoil absorber
when rested on a wall or stand, and also as a secondary weapon between
loadings, or in case of failure to ignite. To those used to a crossbow,
the recoil of a gun, with calibres over 25 mm, even with the weak powder
available, must have been fearful.

26. Handgonners assaulting a castle, from a manuscript of 1468 (Burney
MS 169, British Museum)

These hooked guns were called Hagbuts or Hackbuts
in England, Hakenbusch in Germany, or Harquebus in France. It may be
of interest to note that the derivation of the word "gun"
is from gyn, an abbreviation of engyn, the old English
word for a piece of military material, or machine. Buss is German
for an church almsbox, which had a similar shape . Cannon comes from
the Latin canna, meaning a tube. Bombard comes from the Greek,
bombos, meaning a buzz. And artillery comes from the old French
atillement, meaning apparatus, or equipment.

27. Handgonnes with serpentines, from a manuscript of
Froissart, 1468, formerly in the state library of Bresslau. Note the careful
aim being taken, the serpentine and the tip of the barrel used as makeshift
sights

28. Large hackbut without a priming pan, about 1450
(Museum of Art and History, Geneva)

The other means of absorbing recoil was to lengthen
the stock and brace the gun against the ground, over the shoulder (like
a modern rocket launcher), or under the arm. In the case of socketed
handgonnes, they were attached to poles "in the manner of pikes". The
wooden stocks ranged between 0.75 and 1.5 metres long and 25-50 mm in
diameter. Handguns, which were stocked like contemporary crossbows,
were shorter and handier, but much the same weight. Some of the socketed
guns were later fitted with short curved handles, obviously handier
for firing in the confined spaces of a castle. And, as the custom of
firing from the shoulder began to catch on, broad heavy butts still
attached by socket made their appearance. By about 1430, all the means
of holding and aiming the gun were in use:

i) over shoulder,
ii) under arm,
iii) propped against shoulder,
iv) propped against cheek,
v) propped against chest,
vi) held in the hands.

31. Copy of a drawing in a manuscript of the early 1400's, showing a "schiopetto"
or handgonne

The only data for performance comes from the
Danish researcher, Tage Lasson, who experimented in the 1930s with a
replica of the Vedelspang gun. The 23mm round
lead ball weighed 52 grammes, the charge of ungrained flour powder,
from a recipe of 1380 (8:1:1 saltpeter:sulphur:charcoal), weighed 39
grammes (600 grains). Around 1400, a weight equal to the ball in powder
would have been used, but Lasson reduced the charge to compensate for
the purity of modern chemicals. At a range of 28m, the ball penetrated
50mm of pine, or a piece of light armour. At 46 metres, the ball penetrated
25mm of pine. This data shows the poor power of these guns compared
with crossbows. Evidence from the battle of Wisby (1361) shows crossbow
bolts shot from laminated bows had penetrated steel helmets and skulls
completely at 80m.

32. Drawing of gun with matchlock by Martin Merz, about 1475. Presumably
an externally mounted sear-lock, shown on a gun with an attached pricker
for clearing the touch-hole (Codex Germ 599, Staatsbibliothek, Munich)

33. Manuscript of 1473, showing a man firing an arquebus
from the shoulder. The colouring indicates a bronze barrel and a serpentine
is just visible

Technical improvements and new strategies meant
that, by 1400, infantry armed with crossbow and handgonne could begin
to challenge the supremacy of the mounted knight. Four main improvements
turned the gun into a mobile and effective weapon:

i) the slow match, a cord dipped
in saltpeter and dried which burned at a steady rate and which freed
gunners from having to be close to a fire in order to operate,
ii) corned, or grained powder, which meant that powder did not have
to be prepared immediately before use, thus speeding the rate of fire
and preventing misfires, as well as making the powder more powerful
and less hygroscopic,
iii) the serpentine, the most basic of firing mechanisms, which freed
the gunner to take a proper aim instead of firing by volley (or guestimate),
iv) a pan on top of, or increasingly to the side of, the barrel, to
take a larger quantity of priming without weakening the barrel wall.

34. Handgonners attacking a castle, woodcut of 1499, which may depict earlier
events

The marvellous Konrad Kyeser, writing in 1400,
illustrates the traditional style of gun and gives several formulas
without mentioning corning. However, by 1411, Johann Hartlieb in his
"Kriegbuch" shows pole mounted handgonnes with z-shaped serpentines
passing through the stock, ignited by a piece of match or tinder.

35. From Diebold Schilling's "Berner Chronik" of 1483. Swiss infantry
await an onslaught of Burgundian heavy cavalry from behind a wagon fort.
The artillery are prepared for rapid fire, with cartridges of powder at
the ready (Burger-bibliothek, Bern)

36. Closeup of two arquebusiers, using guns with "over the shoulder" stocks

Handgonnes were extensively used in the Hussite
wars of 1426-32. An illustration from this period shows a short handgonne,
stocked like a contemporary crossbow and aimed from the cheek. Bohemia
and the Czech lands were to figure importantly in firearms history as
a result. Platow mentions target shooting, either as military training
or for pleasure, in Eger in 1420. and Nuremberg in 1430 and 1433. In
1430 the town of Nuremburg possessed 501 handgonnes and 607 crossbows
for the defence of the walls, and sought to equip its militia with more
handgonnes for use in the field in conjunction with cannon and wagon-forts.
After 1440, aiming from the cheek, or with a shortened stock propped
against the shoulder, or over the shoulder, became popular. Gun makers
realised that a heavier shorter stock was as effective at absorbing
recoil - but arms for use in fortifications still retained their characteristic
hook on the barrel.

37. Close-up of a gunner using a shorter "cheek" or shoulder stocked arquebus

By the 1440s, two other types of lock had been
developed, but hand ignition, and the simple serpentine pinned to the
stock, persisted until the 1520s.

38. From the same manuscript, a river assault using armoured gunboats. The
three armoured infantry hold shoulder-stock arquebuses. The hole in the
butt is to secure the match through, or perhaps a sling. The barrels are
shown with a step, but no firing mechanism

The snapping matchlock used a smaller serpentine,
which was spring loaded (albeit weakly) and released by a button located
on the lockplate on the side of the gun. The serpentine fell either
forward, or backward towards the shooter. Later examples were fired
by a more familiar trigger, but except for target shooting, this type
fell out of favour by 1550, as an overly strong spring easily extinguished
the match. For target shooters, this was not a problem, and the clean
"break" of the lock made for a precise aim. This was the type of lock
introduced to Japan in the 1520's and which persisted there for the
next 350 years.

39. A French woodcut from "Le Champion Des Dames", around 1485

The sear type of matchlock was activated by a
lever, like a crossbow, and later a conventional trigger. A sprung sear
inside the lock allowed the serpentine to be progressively lowered as
the hand squeezed, and instantly retracted when pressure was released.
This type of arm was common from 1475 until 1700, when all European
armies had abandoned the matchlock. The simplicity and low cost of matchlock
arms ensured their long popularity, despite the elaborate drill needed
to keep the constantly burning match away from gunpowder during loading.

40. Close-up of a soldier firing a "over shoulder" handgonne

41. Close-up of soldier loading a handgonne.

The invention of various locks to apply match
to priming in the later half the the fifteenth century, led, of course,
to the development of locks which did away with the need for a burning
match altogether, and it is important to look at the development of
matchlocks when evaluating the mechanical evolution of the wheellock
and snaplock. As far as the military use of matchlocks goes, we see
a gradual evolution in the mobility of firepower. The early large caliber
guns were used in siege warfare, the later ones in the field behind
wagon forts and pavises (large shields), and finally in rapid moving
infantry formations. In the 1440s, barrels lengthened to between 500
and 1000mm (20-40 inches) and the caliber dropped to between 12.5 and
16 mm (0.50 and 0.65 caliber). This is the harquebus of the early Renaissance.
In infantry formations of the 1480s, we begin to see one harquebusier
for every two pikemen, billmen or halberdmen. Later, the proportions
became equal. Larger pieces - columbines or wall guns - were used in
the field, either from tripods or light carriages. These had calibers
of around 25-32mm (1-1.5 inch) and barrels 1.5-2 metres long (5-7 feet).
At this period, arquebuses were used mainly for harrassing fire, skirmishing
and ambushes.

42. One of the defenders taking an aimed shot with what could be a snapping
matchlock, fitted with a shoulder stock

The last innovation in matchlocks was the adoption
of the musket around 1520 by the Spanish. This was the most powerful
matchlock that it was felt could be carried and fired by one man, being
between 18-22 mm (0.72-0.90 calibre) with barrels of at least 1 metre.
It was also powerful enough to smash through the heaviest armour at
ranges under 50 metres. A forked stand, or monopod, was carried by the
musketeer to support the weight of the gun when firing. By this period,
pikemen had been relegated to a supporting role, and infantry and musketry
became synonymous.

43. A knight using an arquebus, about 1500. Note the forward falling serpentine,
presumably a snapping matchlock.

Why the handgonne came to replace other projectile
weapons in the late medieval period is not immediately clear and a bit
beyond the scope of this short paper. The introduction of the English
longbow to European warfare in the early 1300s coincides closely with
the invention of the gun. The rapid improvements in armour that this
innovation caused eventually dulled its effectiveness. Longbows were
cheap and powerful, but required large expenditures in training and
feeding troops so that they could be skilled enough and strong enough
to use the bow. Thanks to the finds on the Mary Rose, it has
been proven that the medieval longbow had a draw weight of up to 68kg
(150 lbs). With a hardened steel arrowhead, contemporary observers speak
of the ability to penetrate 4 inches of oak at short range.

44. What is claimed to be the earliest known rifle,
around 1495, cal. 14.6mm. Lock is missing (W.G. Renwick collection)

45. Two arquebuses with snapping matchlocks, around 1500. Note the hexagonal
barrel on the lower one. (Basle Historical Museum)

Let me suggest that the lessening of effectiveness
due to better armour, together with the cocky independence that good
nutrition and elite status produced was enough to convince feudal leaders
that the new technology showed more promise. Firearms became cheaper
and cheaper, and any starving wretch who could lift one could use one
(as is proved in the Napoleonic War memoirs of Rifleman Harris). Even
as late as the 1840s, the Duke of Wellington was fearful of the corrosive
effects on discipline of the new rifle-muskets (which were the first
firearms to match the accuracy and rate of fire of the longbow).

46. Landesknecht loading an arquebus, about 1500

Guns also required specialists to make ammunition.
Any country village could have a fletcher to make arrows, and a blacksmith
to forge the heads, but it was not until the 1700s that village dwellers
and backwoodsmen gained the knowledge to make their own gunpowder. While
the advanced crossbow had better penetration, it was more expensive
and just as slow to load as a handgonne. The only advantage of the simpler
types of crossbow were silence and a steel projectile. And, contrary
to popular belief, all of these weapons were equally ineffectual in
heavy rain - until the invention of the steel bow for the crossbow.
The psychological effect of arrows, from Elizabethan texts is often
described as much worse than gunfire, but let me suggest that in the
1400s, the reverse was true

47. Earliest depiction of a shooting match, Switzerland, 1504

So this complex interplay of social and technological
forces finally led to the gun being adopted as the standard infantry
projectile weapon 300 years before it could match the accuracy and rapidity
of fire of it's "obsolete" predecessor. Hopefully more research, especially
of an experimental nature will help untangle the tangled skein.